“All tissue is not created equal.” Such is the on-screen proclamation upon first launching Greenpeace’s Tissue Guide. And delving into the myriad array of products covered, it becomes painfully clear that a repository of this sort is entirely necessary. But does it need its own app?
All Apps Are Not Created Equal
So there you are in the midst of the paper towel and facial tissue isle at the grocery store. Awash in a sea of eco 'buzz words,' green-coloured packaging and leaf bespeckled logos, it can be difficult to determine the recycling contenders from the pretenders. Enter Greenpeace's Tissue Guide app for the iPhone. At the tap of a finger you'll quickly learn that products with upstanding names, like Earth First, are dubious in terms of their environmental efforts, while Scott Naturals is downright deplorable. But is the Tissue Guide a go-to in the grocery store or should it be relegated to the growing list of ‘disposable apps’? Read on for the full analysis.
Higher Standards
The app’s main screen is comprised of four kinds of paper-based consumer products: Toilet Paper, Facial Tissue, Paper Towel, and Paper Napkin. Selecting a category brings up a series of brand names and manufacturers, listed according to how earth-friendly their production processes are. Three factors make up the criteria by which these products are judged: % post consumer, % overall recycled, and bleaching process. To earn a ‘Recommended’ ranking, a product must include 100% recycled content, 50%+ post-consumer, and have been bleached without toxic chlorine compounds.
Meeting these standards lands the product atop the list, accompanied by a fittingly green background, just to drive home the point. Following is an ‘honourable mentions’ section where products that meet only two out of the three criteria reside under the cautionary-yellow heading “could do better.” It’s here that you will find some of the quasi-eco-friendly products, such as the aforementioned Earth First. Lastly, buried at the bottom, are the ne’er-do-wells. Meeting just 1 or none of the criteria earns these products the “should be avoided” heading, emboldened in a halting-red.
In Closing
Ultimately, the list of manufacturers and products is extensive and simply browsing the lists can provide a quick overview of which companies are actually serious about environmental issues. That being said, the average consumer typically selects a brand and stands by it. Once you’re aware of which brand of tissues falls into which category, it becomes a simple matter of aligning your patronage and getting on with your day. In other words, the app is essentially disposable. I can, howwever, think of two viable reasons for holding on to the Tissue Guide: 1) if you're the economical sort you can repeatedly use the ‘Recommended’ list to select the most appropriate brand on sale that particular week or 2) to inform other people (trust me, busting out the Greenpeace Tissue Guide at a dinner party will have your name circulating in all sorts of social circles). Otherwise, inform yourself, make your choice, and move on.
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iPhone Eco Apps
Want to save the environment? There's an app for that. With millions of users world wide, the iPhone offers eco-minded developers the opportunity to spread energy saving tips and tricks, emissions-reducing techniques, and even turn-by-turn directions to the greenest stores around.